2008-2009 Philadelphia 76ers Season Preview

Last season the Philadelphia 76ers (40- 42) made a 22 out of 34
run at the end of the season to make it into the playoffs for the
first time since the 2004-2005 season. It was an odd season—one
in which the 76ers were Allen Iverson-less for the entire year.
The club started slowly, going 5-13. Vet point guard Andre Miller,
who was the main man in the Iverson deal, kicked it into gear part
way through the 2007-2008 season, and as time went on, young guys
Louis Williams, Thaddeus Young and Jason Smith started to gel into
a unit. One major move that seemed to propel the team into action
was the firing of GM Billy King and the hiring of new GM Ed Stefanski.
Stefanski connected on a mid-season trade with Utah that garnered
shooting guard Gordan Giricek. The team met the Detroit Pistons
in round one and gave them a run for their money before being eliminated
from the playoff picture.

The youth of the team such as Williams, Young and Smith and the
NBA vets, which included Miller and Giricek, proved to be athletic,
motivated and hard working. As they went deep into the season, the
Sixers seemed determined to make every game count and as they made
every game count they became more and more successful. They proved
that they could press a team into turnovers and also stop them from
getting off their initial shots. They also played relatively clean
basketball, stealing a lot but fouling little. Their transition
offense was often seamless as they stole, ran and scored with aplomb.

The signing of power forward Elton Brand this past July while trading
forward Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth for a future round one pick
helped to vastly improve this team for the upcoming season. Sixteenth
pick forward/center Marreese Speights could pay dividends.

Brand, who’s rehabbed from an Achilles tear, will have an
immediate effect. The nine-year vet averaged 17.6 PPG and 8.0 RPG
last season. Young, who had 8.2 PPG and 4.2 RPG playing power forward
in his rookie season, should be even better this year as he moves
to small forward. Center Samuel Dalembert was a solid double-double
guy with 10.5 PPG and 10.4 RPG.

The addition of shooting guard Kareem Rush, a 39% three-point shooter
and 40% field goal shooter, should help from downtown. Point guard
Andre Miller, who came to the team in the Iverson deal, averaged
6.9 APG and 17.0 PPG. This season, swingman Andre Iguodala will
move from small forward to shooting guard. He’s athletic and
able to hit from anywhere. Off the bench, Louis Williams averaged
11.5 PPG last season. This backcourt has great scoring and defensive
potential.

Last season, the Sixers lacked shooting. Brand will help with that
in two ways—through his own shot and his mentoring of young
guys. Look for some classic battles between Philadelphia and Boston—two
tough defensive teams. The Sixers will run the court and quickly.
A winning season, second-place in the Atlantic and a playoff berth
all look promising.

If you enjoyed reading our Philadelphia 76ers preview read up on
the rest of the Atlantic Division rivals like the Nets,
Celtics,
Knicks,
and Raptors.

2008-09 NBA Division & Team Previews

Maddux Sports
presents its annual 2008-09 Season NBA preview sorted by divisions.
To the right we have listed the 6 divisions, click on the division
of your choice for our team projections and order of finish. Click
here to return to the main NBA season preview page.